Duration of contracts

Contracts are normally fixed-term contracts with a minimum duration of two and a maximum duration of five years, with the possibility of renewal (Article 5 of the Staff Regulations).

Probationary Period

Staff members must serve a six-month probation period (Article 7 of the Staff Regulations).

Installation allowance

Staff members with a contract of at least one year at the time of their appointment with ECMWF, that reside more than 100 kilometres away from the duty station i.e. ECMWF, or serving staff who are transferred or move their residence near new ECMWF premises located more than 100km away, will be eligible to a payment of installation allowance, subject to providing the appropriate documentation.

Basic amount

Staff members not entitled to expatriation allowance will be eligible to claim a one off basic amount for installation of £1,875.

Staff members entitled to expatriation allowance will be eligible to claim a one off basic amount for installation equal to one month’s basic salary, up to a ceiling of £5,156.

Supplements that may be added

Should family members join and reside with the staff member at the duty station, i.e. ECMWF, a supplement for dependents will also be paid as follows:

of 20% of the basic amount in respect of the spouse or, in the absence of a spouse, the first dependent child of the staff member

10% of the basic amount in respect of any other dependent.

However, the overall supplement for dependents shall not exceed 100% of the basic amount of £1,875.00.

Mobility:

Staff members who move their residence due to a transfer to another duty station located more than 100 kilometres away will be eligible to a one off mobility supplement of 75% of the basic amount.

Remuneration

The following applies for eligibility for staff that took up duties at the Centre up to 31 December 2016:

Remuneration consists of a basic salary in accordance with the staff member’s grade and step. ECMWF follows incremental salary scales within Grades A, L, B and C; the highest grade is A7 and the lowest is C1. In addition to the basic salary, the following allowances are payable, subject to qualifying conditions:

Expatriation allowance

The expatriation allowance will be paid to staff members within the grade categories A, L and B who, at the time of their appointment with ECMWF:

were not nationals of the UK; and

had not been continuously resident in the UK for at least one year, no account being taken of previous service in their own country's administration or with other international organisations; and

were recruited internationally from outside the Co-ordinated Organisations or from outside the country of assignment; and

were recruited from outside the local commuting area of the duty station.

The local commuting area shall be defined as a radius of 100 km from the duty station.

Expatriation allowance is always calculated on the first step of the grade.

The rate of the expatriation allowance during the first five years of service will be 10% of basic salary. In years six through ten, it will be reduced by two percentage points per year to reach zero in year ten (Article 18 of the Staff Regulations).

Education allowance

Staff members who are entitled to the expatriation allowance may claim the reimbursement of educational costs (education allowance) for each dependent child who regularly attends an educational establishment on a full-time basis. ECMWF will reimburse 70% of the admissible educational expenditures; ceilings apply (Article 17 of the Staff Regulations).

Income tax

The remuneration received from ECMWF is exempt from national income tax.

Social security

Staff members are exempt from paying national insurance contributions in the UK. However, it is possible under certain conditions to pay into the scheme on a voluntary basis by paying Class 3 national insurance contributions.

Pre-school expenses for nurseries

To assist both expatriate and locally employed staff members facing increasingly high nursery care expenses, ECMWF will contribute a monthly lump sum payment not exceeding the dependent child allowance, currently £259.76 per month. This contribution towards nursery expenses is paid only up to the time when the child starts school. Qualifying conditions apply.

Supplementary health insurance scheme

All staff members are required to contribute to ECMWF’s supplementary health insurance scheme for personal medical insurance. The insurance offered by this scheme is supplementary to the coverage available under any national health scheme. Staff members are required to contribute 1/3 of 4.32% of their basic salary, plus related allowances, to this scheme. The percentage rate is reviewed from time to time.

Pension scheme

Staff members are affiliated to ECMWF’s Funded Pension Scheme, to which the staff member’s contribution is presently 11.6% of the monthly basic salary. A staff member is entitled to draw a pension normally at the pensionable age of 63 years after having completed ten or more years of service with the organisation. Staff members leaving the organisation with less than ten years of service are entitled to a leaving allowance. In the case of total incapacity, invalidity pensions are payable regardless of the length of service. In the case of death of a staff member, survivors’ or orphans’ pensions will be paid for eligible survivors or orphans.

Annual leave

Staff members are entitled to paid annual leave at a rate of 2.5 working days for each month of service completed, i.e. 30 working days per year, plus official holidays (Article 33 of the Staff Regulations).

Home leave

Staff members in receipt of expatriation allowance are entitled to eight working days of home leave every two years (in addition to annual leave). ECMWF covers the home-leave travel expenses for the staff member and dependent family members (Article 34 of the Staff Regulations).

Maternity leave

The maternity leave entitlement is 20 weeks on full pay. (Article 36 of the Staff Regulations).

Sick leave

ECMWF has provision for paid sick leave for up to a maximum of nine months on full pay, with provision for a further three months on reduced pay (Article 35 of the Staff Regulations).

Working hours

The normal working week is from Monday to Friday inclusive and shall total 40 hours (Article 29 of the Staff Regulations).